Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa analyzed data collected by the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory’s GPS array and finally confirmed crustal movement that had long been predicted by computer models.

“While the San Andreas GPS data has been publicly available for more than a decade, the vertical component of the measurements had largely been ignored in tectonic investigations because of difficulties in interpreting the noisy data,” said researcher Samuel Howell, lead author of the study. “Using this technique, we were able to break down the noisy signals to isolate a simple vertical motion pattern that curiously straddled the San Andreas fault.”